Escape to Amsterdam

Don't get me wrong -- I absolutely love the city of København, despite the dismal weather. However, after spending a week by myself in my host family's home (they were skiing in the Italian Alps), I was ready to get out of the house myself. Since just about every other European destination is warmer and cheaper than København, I was faced with a bevy of options. Where to go?\nI was limited in destinations by the Eurail ticket I was holding, so I decided on a weekend in Amsterdam. The notorious city of sin and culture was accessible by my train pass, so off to Amsterdam I went -- and what an adventure it was.\nGetting to Amsterdam via train was more than a little tricky. The main office at the København central station incorrectly booked our outgoing reservations, leaving us in a tiny German town. Thankfully, the error was caught, and we made it to Amsterdam a little later than expected but still in one piece. The ride back was even worse, if possible. My Eurail ticket's ink was smeared, and the universally surly Dutch train personnel threatened to throw me in jail for a smudged number on my rail pass. I finally agreed to be charged for an extra day, and though I was out an extra $50, I did manage to avoid prison.\nDespite the hassles in getting there and back, Amsterdam itself was a weekend excursion well worth the trip. The weather seemed downright tropical compared to Denmark, and the people in the city were marvelous, helpful with directions and the public transportation. The vibe of Amsterdam was completely different than the reserved manner of the Danes -- the streets were boisterous with people cheering games of gigantic chess, hawking tulips and racing on their bikes from place to place.\nMy must-see stop in Amsterdam was the Van Gogh Museum. \nVan Gogh, a Dutchman, has an entire museum devoted to his and his contemporaries works, situated near the Rijksmuseum, which houses works by the earlier Dutch masters of art. Spanning his entire career, I was able to see some of the most famous paintings in the world, including my personal favorite, Van Gogh's bedroom. After wandering around the museum for awhile, I decided to explore the reason Amsterdam has become infamous worldwide -- the Red Light District.\nIt's hard to describe the Red Light District of Amsterdam. Marijuana plants lined the window sills of coffee shops, and people just look the other way at behavior that will ordinarily result in an arrest. The scene is in a way incongruous, with the glow of red lights from the windows of prostitutes lighting the antique canals and historic buildings. Hustlers lined the streets, and shills corralled the gawking tourists into their live stage shows. Every sin and vice imaginable can be sated in Amsterdam -- for a price.\nAmsterdam is a wonderful city full of culture in the day and something entirely different at night. The contrast is as marked as possible: the home of world famous art is also home of the largest semi-legal trade of soft drugs in Europe. There are a multitude of reasons to visit the Dutch city of sin, and the charm of the city is overwhelming. I am counting the days until I go back -- and I am flying this time.